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@uiten tutrssirni @ffirej HEBER C. GRIFFIN, `OF'FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF, GEORGE W. GRIFFIN, AND JOHN N. HOWE.

Letters Patent No. T5,751,0Zated llfareh 24, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN BILLIARDv-GUES;

lTo ALL wnoM IT MAY 1eornnnntf:

Be it known that I, HEBER C. GRIFFIN, of Franklin, in the county of Merrimack, and State of New I-Ia'mpshire, have invented certain Improvements in Billiard-Cues, of which the following is a full, clearfand exactdcscription', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in whieh- Figure 1 is a perspeetiveview ofthe end of a billiard-cuewith my improvements applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the centre of the same.

Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of two jaws forming portions of my improvements.

Figure 5 is a socket for rleceiving the two jaws when closed` together.

Figure '6 `represents atipv of eue detached. l i I l Figure 7 isa4 section illustrating the manner in which the jaws are loosened or tightened within their socket.

The billiard-cue of the ordinary construction is provided with a leather shield or tip," which is glued to 4'its outer end. When a tip is injured or is worn away from use, it is removed by cutting it olf at the woodenv end of the cue, and a new tip is glued thereon, which operations are somewhat inconvenient and tedious to perform, and before the cue can be again used, itvmustl be laid aside u ntil the glue has seh Furthermore, thetip is frequently attached i-n an insecure or improper manner, and is liable to be knocked oil' accidentally To remove the above-mentioned'diiiiculties is theobject of my invention, which consists in a pair of jaws, which screw into asoeket at the end ofthe cue, and serv-e to hold the tip rmly in place.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe-the manner in which Ihave carried it out. Y

In the said drawings, A represents a portion of a wooden billiard-eue, the outer end of which is turned. down and provided with a screw-thread, a over which fits a corresponding screw-threadon the interior of the inner end of a metal socket, B. A screw-thread, b, of smaller diameter than that, a, is eut withinthe socket from 8 to 9 for the reception of a similar screw-thread formed on the inner end-of each of a. pair of metaljaws, C D, which, when united together, may he turned, so as to'snugly tit therein. The inner dat face of the jaw C is provided vwith a hole, c, for receivinga small pin, d, projecting from the corresponding face of the jaw D, i for holding them together in a'position to be screwed into their socket, or for keeping them in place when removed therefrom. The inner end of the Hat face ofthe jaw D is also provided with a fiat strip or cleat, e, which holds the two jaws a'short distance apartat their lower ends, and allows the outer ends, which hold the tip, to be closed in a manner now to he explained.

Within each' of the outer ends of the two jaws C D is formed a semicircular cavity,10, which, when the jaws are closed together, form a frustum of a cone, the diameterof which, atfg, is but slightly greater than that 7L z'. This cavity is intended for the reception of a. tip, E, composed of one or more pieces of leather'or other suitable elastic material, made in the form shown in figs. 2 and 6, it being hevelled from 1r to Z, at an inelination corresponding to that,j'7z or g z', of the sides of the interior ofthe cavity 10, the portion of the outer end ot' the tip from au to n being rounded oil` and made slightly larger than the diameter ofthe outside of the jaws C D, so ns to extend over their edges, thus preventing the liability of the hall coming in contact therewith, The outer end oi` thc socket is bevellcd inward 'from o to p, to receive a similarly-shaped portion, q r, of the exterior surface of the jaws C D, by which construction, when the tip is in placewithin the cavity 10, it is rnily grasped by the jaws when received sufficiently within their socket to cause the bevelled edgeq r' of the jaws to coincide with that, op, of the socket. The inner ends ofthe fiat faces of thejaws C D being separatedv by the cleat e, and the jaws being gradually turned down in piace within the socket, their outer edges commence to he sprung together at the moment the incline gli* is brought down agnins'tfithe incline op, and the tip is rmly held as required v ,When a tip has been worn out, or is defective and requires to be removed, it is simply necessary to employ a wrench, G, of t-heform shown in iig. 7, and unscrew the jaws from their socket, one or both of the jaws being provided with a hole, s, for the reception of a pin, t, projectingV from the inner curved surface of the wrenchi The socket may also be removed from the wooden portion, A, of the cue, if desired, by applying the wrench to a hole, u, similar to that, s, and runde to receive the projection t.

In order to render the socket B and jaws C D as light as possible, they may be made either of thin metal, or of hard rubber, or of any other suitable material possessing the requisite strength.

By the above-described construction, the elasticity of the tip is insured, and as it is more firmly held by the jaws than by the ordinary process ot gluing, it is consequently more durable, and much inconvenience and delay incident thereto are avoided.

Claim.

What I claim as my invention, is The billiard-cue A, composed of twoseparate jaws C and D, and tip E, and socket B, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

HEBER o. GRIFFIN,

Witnesses:

N. H. SANBORN, L. L. SANBORN. 

